Holy Cross football hearkens back to glory days

Sunday

Oct 3, 2010 at 6:00 AM

Paul Jarvey

When Holy Cross found itself in trouble yesterday, it could have used someone like Gill Fenerty to run some time off the clock and charge up the Homecoming crowd. The Crusaders definitely could have benefitted from an All-American safety like John Provost to finally deliver a knockout punch to relentless Fordham, too.

The HC glory days of Fenerty and Provost were decades ago, of course, but they got to bask in the Fitton Field sunshine once more yesterday, joining two-way star Gordie Lockbaum, 1942 captain Edmund Murphy, former Washington Redskins great Vince Promuto and the late Bill Osmasnki as the first members of the Crusader Legends Ring of Fame.

“It’s the icing on the cake,” said the 57-year-old Provost, who shared the honor with dozens of friends, family and former teammates under a tent on the baseball field. “It’s a tremendous tribute to be part of the inaugural class.”

Fenerty is 47 and his hair is turning gray. Provost’s mane is thinning. Both look like they might still be able to play.

In their day, both could play.

Provost was the New England Major College Player of the Year in 1974 when he led the nation with 10 interceptions. He finished his career with 470 return yards on interceptions, which was then the most ever in Division 1. His 27 career interceptions were second-most ever when he graduated.

His season-opening demolition of Brown his senior year — four interceptions, two punt-return TDs — is still being talked about. After watching film of the performance in preparation for a game a week later, Harvard coach Joe Restic said there wasn’t a better safety in the country.

Provost said the game was significant to him because he was coming off shoulder surgery, having injured the joint trying to tackle a Boston College running back in the last game of his sophomore season.

Provost’s teams were always around .500 under coach Ed Doherty, but Fenerty was a big part of HC’s resurgence in the 1980s.

He is the Crusaders’ all-time leading rusher with 3,680 yards, most of which seemed to come on take-your-breath-away dashes. He rushed for 337 yards and six touchdowns against Columbia in 1983, setting school records in both categories.

Fenerty was drafted by the New Orleans Saints and played three years with the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts.

Provost, the son of a welder from Quincy, became the first member of his family to attend college when he enrolled at Holy Cross. He chose HC because it was the only school to offer him a scholarship.

HC didn’t find Fenerty as much he found the college.

He was recruited by Alabama, Auburn and Texas A&M before settling on LSU. He discovered early in his freshman year in Baton Rouge that LSU was a bit too big for his tastes.

“LSU is a great school and they put out some great people, including athletes,” Fenerty said. “I just didn’t want to sit in a class with 200 people. That was my choice. It was the right choice. (Holy Cross) was the perfect school, I fit in well here.”

He and his father sent out letters to several colleges in the East and HC responded. He fell in love with the college after visiting the campus.

“I knew it was a very comfortable place to be,” he said.

He didn’t even mind that he would have to sit out a year before being eligible to play. It gave him a chance to get acclimated.

Rick Carter had taken over as coach and was quickly building HC into a power in the new Division 1-AA. Still, he found things more laidback than at LSU.

“It was too serious,” he said of playing with the Tigers. “Here, it was a lot of fun. We knew it was just a game, like it is out there today. It’s not a big business.”

Fenerty, now a CPA, has hopscotched around since his CFL days, living in Atlanta, Tampa and Italy. He moved back to New Orleans about a year ago to help care for his ailing father. He gets back to Worcester every couple of years and follows HC online, but he likes pro football more than the college game.

Provost has been self-employed for more than 25 years and lives on the North Shore. He makes it to a couple of HC football games and hockey games every year.

Being recognized yesterday gave him a chance to recall his playing days for one glorious afternoon and to try to sort fact from fiction with a lot of old friends. Being honored by his alma mater was humbling.